Draft Presidential Statement on Women, Peace and Security

Following its 7658th meeting held on 28 March 2016, in connection with the Councils
consideration of the item entitled Women and Peace and Security: The role of women in
conflict prevention and resolution in Africa, the President of Security Council made the
following statement on behalf of the Council:
The Security Council reaffirms its commitment to the full and effective implementation, in a
mutually reinforcing manner, of resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889
(2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013), 2122 (2013) and 2242 (2015) on women, peace and security,
as part of the Councils comprehensive approach to conflict prevention and mediation, and of all
relevant statements of its President.
The Security Council welcomes the adoption of regional frameworks to implement resolution
1325, including the African Unions Gender, Peace and Security Programme 2015-2020, and
expresses its support for the AU Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, Ms Bineta Diop.
The Security Council further welcomes the efforts of Member States in this regard, including the
development of national action plans on women, peace and security, but notes that despite these
commitments, inconsistent levels of political will, resourcing, accountability, dedicated gender
expertise and attitudinal change have often prevented the full and meaningful inclusion of
women in regional and international efforts to prevent and resolve conflict, and to build and
sustain peace.
The Security Council emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive approach to sustaining
peace, particularly through the prevention of conflict and addressing its root causes, and in this
regard, reaffirms the substantial link between womens meaningful involvement in efforts to
prevent, resolve and rebuild from conflict and those efforts effectiveness and long-term
sustainability. The Security Council reiterates its call to increase the equal participation,
representation and full involvement of women in preventive diplomacy efforts and all related
decision-making processes with regard to conflict resolution and peacebuilding, in line with
resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 2122 (2013) and 2242 (2015).
The Security Council acknowledges the positive impact that the economic empowerment of
women can have on their full participation in political decision making and peace and security
efforts, and in this regard calls on Member States to provide better occupational skills training
and greater funding support for entrepreneurships for African women in order to
comprehensively improve their incomes and livelihoods.
The Security Council emphasizes the important role that women and civil society, including
womens organizations and formal and informal community leaders, as well as religious leaders,
can play in exerting influence over parties to armed conflict. The Security Council welcomes
women-led prevention initiatives such as the Womens Situation Rooms throughout Africa,
which have helped to prevent or mitigate the eruption and escalation of violence, inter alia
through observing and monitoring, and by engaging stakeholders in constructive dialogue and
peace advocacy. The Security Council reiterates the continuing need to increase success in
preventing conflict by increasing the participation of women at all stages of mediation and post-

conflict resolution and by increasing the consideration of gender-related issues in all discussions
pertinent to conflict prevention.
The Security Council recognizes the differential impact on the human rights of women and girls
of terrorism and violent extremism, including in the context of their health, education, and
participation in public life, and that they are often directly targeted by terrorist groups and in this
regard notes the presentation by the Secretary-General of his Plan of Action to Prevent Violent
Extremism, and his call to ensure that the protection and empowerment of women is a central
consideration of strategies devised to counter terrorism and violent extremism, and that efforts to
counter terrorism and violent extremism do not impact adversely on womens rights.
The Security Council recognizes that mediation is an important means for the pacific settlement
of disputes, calls upon regional and sub-regional organisations involved in peace processes to
facilitate the meaningful participation of women at all levels of conflict prevention and
resolution as well as implementation of peace agreements, and welcomes in this regard the
initiative of the African Union to build a dedicated roster of women mediators on the continent
for the use of both the African Union and United Nations. The Security Council calls upon the
UN Mediation Support Unit as a provider of mediation support to the United Nations system, in
accordance with agreed mandates, to work in collaboration with Member States, regional
organisations including the AU and other relevant actors, to significantly increase the numbers of
women mediators on their existing roster, as well as to ensure that mediators and their teams
have training on designing inclusive mediation strategies.
The Security Council welcomes and reaffirms its commitment to cooperation between the
United Nations and regional and sub-regional organizations and arrangements in matters relating
to the maintenance of international peace and security, and consistent with Chapter VIII of the
Charter of the United Nations, which can improve collective security and requests greater
consideration of the women, peace and security agenda into cooperation efforts.
The Security Council encourages Member States to increase their funding on women, peace and
security including through more aid in conflict and post-conflict situations for programmes that
further gender equality and womens empowerment, as well as through support to civil society.
The Council recognizes the launch of the Global Acceleration Instrument (GAI) on womens
engagement in peace and security and humanitarian affairs, in addition to existing
complementary mechanisms, as one avenue to attract resources, coordinate responses and
accelerate implementation, and encourages Member States to consider funding the GAI.
The Security Council further welcomes the valuable work undertaken by the Peacebuilding
Fund as a catalytic, rapid-response and flexible pre-positioned pooled fund providing financing
to activities to sustain peace in conflict-affected countries, and in advancing strategic alignment
within the United Nations system and between the United Nations and the international financial
institutions.